10 Weirdest Metal Subgenres

Metal’s family tree is the most diverse in music, but just like in every family, there are the black sheep that parents just don’t understand. These are the 10 Weirdest Metal Subgenres.

You’ve gotta hand it to the 10 acts featured in this Loud List, they stuck by their demented visions and made them work. With war, violence and epic tales told by the pioneers of power metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, it was only a matter of time before those dynamics took on a physical manifestation. In comes viking metal, spearheaded by bands like Enslaved in the early ‘90s and refined by Amon Amarth at the turn of the century.

Not long after Amon Amarth blew up around the world, people began to search for other bizarre incarnations. Suddenly, pirate metal hit the scene with bands like Alestorm and Swashbuckle. The ridiculousness of it all makes for a fun listen and a party of a live show, as you’ll see in the clip above.

Nobody could have anticipated an act like Babymetal being embraced by the most serious of metalheads, but it happened thanks to top-notch musicianship and compositional prowess along with an undeniable charm. Japanese “idol” groups like Babymetal have been recently categorized as “kawaii metal,” which translates to “cute metal” in English. Though no kawaii metal act has come close to Babymetal’s popularity, DollsBoxx and Ladybaby have received some extra attention.

Check out this showcase of the 10 Weirdest Metal Subgenres in the Loud List above.